


Hidden things

by Drarrymadhatter



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-07
Updated: 2020-06-07
Packaged: 2021-03-03 19:28:51
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,551
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24590845
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Drarrymadhatter/pseuds/Drarrymadhatter
Summary: When studying in the library turns into a weird game of chess.
Kudos: 7





	Hidden things

  
  


Hidden Things

It was an hour after dinner had ended and the library was mostly empty. It was a gorgeous spring evening and most of the students were outside enjoying the castle grounds. Most, but not all. Dotted sporadically throughout the library were students of varying ages, studying and scribbling assignments, silent except for the flutter of parchment and the scratching of quills. Near the Charms section, two eighth-year students, one dark and one fair, sat at opposite ends of a long rectangular table. Both were studiously ignoring the other as they drove themselves onwards to complete their assignments as quickly as possible, as if some silent challenge had been uttered between them. 

After a while, the dark-haired boy pushed his chair back and made his way tiredly over to the nearest book shelf, quickly followed by the fair-haired boy, a scowl on his face as he went. Just as the dark-haired boy pulled a heavy tome off the shelf, the fair-haired boy snatched out his hand with Seeker reflexes and grabbed the edge of the book, halting the dark-haired boy in his tracks.

“Oi, what’re you playing at Malfoy?” whispered Harry harshly.

“I need that book, Potter.” 

“Tough, I got it first. Let go.”

“Make me, Saviour-Of-The-Whole-Sodding-World!”

“Merlin, what are you? Five?” demanded Harry in exasperation. “Let go of the bloody book!”

“Not a chance,” hissed Draco adamantly

“You can have it after,” reasoned Harry, mindful that they were in the library and were very close to being thrown out.

“What, you think I’m second to you?” snarled Draco menacingly. “Give me the fucking book before Pince has a hippogriff.”

“You’re the one who started it! Now. Get. Off!”

Harry punctuated his last words with fierce tugs, trying to dislodge the book from Draco’s grasp, but the blond held on tight. They pushed and pulled and hissed and scuffled, managing to knock over a few books in the process. Losing the last thread of his patience, Harry put his body weight into one last yank, managing to win custody of the book. He shuffled in an attempt to regain his balance, resulting in his foot catching the bottom of the bookcase and causing the bottom panel to partially fall off.

“Oh well done, Scarhead.” 

“Shit! Pince is going to freak!” Harry dropped to his knees and picked up the broken piece of shelf, trying to find a way to fix it.

“Maybe she won’t notice it,” he suggested hopefully, holding the splintered wood in his hands.

“It’s Pince we’re talking about, not bloody Hagrid. She’ll notice,” hissed Draco scathingly. “Wouldn’t a Reparo work?”

“Oh yeah, never thought of that.” mumbled Harry, ignoring Draco’s eyeroll. 

He pulled his wand out of his pocket and, just as he went to tap the broken shelf, he noticed something underneath.

“Wait, there’s something hidden in here.”

Carefully, Harry reached in and pulled out a very battered cardboard box. He placed it down onto the carpeted floor and blew at the thick layer of dust and cobwebs that seemed to cover every inch of the box. 

“What do you think it is?” asked Harry, interest piqued.

“Who cares, Potter,” answered Draco, although he leaned forward to look anyway.

Harry slowly lifted the lid off the box to reveal a very old and very dusty wizard’s chess set. 

“Who would bother hiding their chess set in the library?” wondered Harry, almost to himself. 

“Looks old,” observed Draco. “So, can I have the book then?”

“Screw the book, Malfoy,” replied Harry with an intrigued grin, “fancy a game?”

“What?” asked Draco, completely surprised.

“I said, fancy a game?” repeated Harry, warming more and more to the idea.

“I’m here to study, not play a stupid game.” replied Draco harshly, although Harry could see him eyeing the chess set with interest as he spoke.

“Scared, Malfoy?” challenged Harry, his green eyes glinting as he threw down the gauntlet.

Draco met Harry’s eyes — something it seemed he’d been careful to avoid doing since eighth year had begun, especially in such close quarters — and a slow, careful smile began to spread across Draco’s features. 

“You wish, Potter.”

Harry picked up the box and carried it carefully back to the table they had been sharing, while Draco gathered their things together, making room for the chess set.

“I’m white,” demanded Harry, as he began to take the pieces out of the box and set them up.

“There is no white,” replied Draco with amusement as he leaned over to help, “the pieces are all Jade, see?” 

“Fine! Then I’m light Jade and you can be dark Jade.”

“Fine, whatever Potter,” conceded Draco. “Your move then.”

With a mutual grin, they began to play.

“Potter, it’s your move. Merlin, you take ages.”

“Sorry,” replied Harry as he moved one of his pawns forward one space, I was just thinking.”

“That was a ridiculous move, Potter,” Draco replied as he swiftly took the pawn. “Thinking about what?”

“Well, why Jade? Seems a bit random to me.”

“Do you know  _ nothing _ ?” sighed Draco dramatically as he watched Harry contemplate moving his bishop. “Jade’s magically valuable. It’s good for healing and defence. It represents new beginnings. It can encourage a long life and peaceful death, even. That’s why practically everything in China is made from the stuff.”

“How the hell do you know that?”

“I read a lot,”replied Draco with a shrug, moving his queen to check Harry’s king. “What else am I going to do? It’s not like there’s a long line of people dying to hang out with me, is there?”

“So, what should we do with the chess set?” asked Harry as Draco took yet another of his pieces. “Put it back?”

“Why on earth would we put it back?” demanded Draco, eyebrows raised.

“Well, it’s not ours, is it?”

“It’s not anybody’s, Potter. It must have been there for years.”

“It’s theft, Malfoy.”

“It’s seizing the opportunity, Potter.”

“Ugh, whatever you have to tell yourself,” sighed Harry, moving his rook to take one of Draco’s pawns.

“Merlin, Potter!” chuckled Draco, as he scooped up Harry’s rook with ease. “You suck at chess.”

“Yeah,” winced Harry as he surveyed his rapidly diminishing pieces. “Ron beats me all the time. I usually don’t bother playing him anymore. It’s over too quickly and it’s embarrassing.”

“Really? Weasley can beat you?”

“Hey, be nice. He’s amazing at strategy, you know.”

“Hmmmm, I might actually have to challenge him to a game sometime.”

“On your own head be it, Malfoy. He’s undefeated.”

“Yeah, so am I.”

“Hey, have you ever played strip chess?”

Harry looked up in surprise at Draco’s seemingly random question.

“Is that even a thing?”

“Why not?” shrugged Draco with a grin. “So, have you?”

“Well considering I didn’t even know it was a thing, I think it’s safe to say no,” frowned Harry. “Why would you ask that anyway?”

“No reason, I was just wondering. We need something to make this game interesting, you know.”

“Hey, now that’s just mean.”

“It’s true.” 

“Is that why you’re mates with Weasley then? Strategy advice?”

“No!” scoffs Harry, amused, “but it certainly came in useful.”

“Then what?”

“He’s loyal. He cares. And we have a laugh.”

Draco didn’t respond, seeming to think on what Harry had said as he moved his pieces strategically across the board. 

After a few minutes had passed in companionable silence, Draco finally voiced his thoughts.

“I always wondered why you chose him over me.”

“Oh for Merlin’s sake!” sighed Harry, “I didn’t choose him over you. You were never an option in the first place. I had only spoken to you for two minutes in the robes shop and already you came across as a bully. Then, two seconds into the conversation on the train you managed to insult the first friend I'd ever made. What did you expect?”

“He insulted me first,” replied Draco petulant.

“Even before that though.”

“Yeah, I know. I was a spoiled brat.”

“Yeah, and then some.”

“I’m sorry you know, for all of it.”

“I know. So am I.”

“What do you need to be sorry about?”

“I knew something was up and instead of helping you out, I hit you with that curse.”

“Fair’s fair, Potter. I was happily about to Crucio you, so I can’t really hold that against you.”

“Do you ever think how it might have been if we had been friends? Or at least, not enemies?”

“It would have been weird.”

“Yeah, but how different would things have been?”

“It’s not too late you know, for us to be friends.”

The both looked at each other, holding each other’s gaze over the top of the waiting pieces. Slowly, deliberately, Harry extended his hand over the top of the chess board and waited. Draco looked at the hand questioningly for a few seconds, as if waiting for the punchline. Then, he carefully leaned over and shook Harry’s hand. The feeling of warmth from their clasped hands travelled from their joined palms and towards their stomachs, where it settled with a hopeful flutter. They grinned, as if both seeing each other clearly for the first time, before letting their hands drop and lowering their eyes back to the board. 

“So Potter, where did we land on the strip chess idea?”

  
  



End file.
